Knouge - One Night
by MindiTheWriter
Summary: Knuckles feeling slightly down and lonely is spending his time in a bar when suddenly he notices a very familiar ivory bat on the dancefloor among the other dancers. All it takes is one night from Knuckles and Rouge to get closer to each others and feel that special sparkle between them.


**Knouge - One Night**

I was sitting in the bar, looking at my beer mug while a paced dance music was playing on the background. The music was just getting louder and louder but it didn't really bother me. I drank the rest of my beer and I ordered a new one. The bartender looked at me for a long time, obviously trying to figure out if I was drunk or not before he finally filled my mug. So, in his eyes I wasn't drunk.. And I really wasn't even drunk! This was only my third beer mug! Besides, I don't get drunk so easily. Especially not after two beer mugs. When I was younger I got drunk way more easier. And way more often.. But now I'm already adult and I can handle it. My twentieth birthday was just a few weeks ago! God, I feel old..

I turned around on my chair and I slightly leaned on the bar desk with my elbows. I looked how people danced on the dancefloor and that's when I noticed something familiar. I looked one of the dancers closely and my eyes widened when I recognized the female figure. I couldn't believe that she really was there.

Rouge.

I felt how my heart suddenly started to beat really fast. It was really her.. She was here. She really was here..! I felt like my heart was going to explode in pure joy and happiness just for seeing her.

I just couldn't take my eyes off of her. I haven't seen her in three years. She looked just as beautiful as then, maybe even more beautiful. Her ivory hair was longer than then, I kinda liked that. I looked at her dancing with rapt attention. She was moving her body along with the music and her dancing looked really sexy. She was moving her hips from side to side teasingly and she was quite a sight on the dancefloor and of course she really caught men's attention. Even my attention...

I looked at her from head to toe slowly. The dress, she was wearing, was black, tight and short and the silky fabric caressed her feminine curves perfectly. She also had some jewelry on her neck. Mh, typical from Rouge to wear something like that..

The years had treated her really well because she looked absolutely stunning.. The music began to slow down and she stopped dancing. I watched how she walked from the dancefloor to the bar desk. She had not noticed me yet appearently..

I looked how she sat down on a chair and she took a lipstick from her black, little bag. She also took a little mirrow and she put more lipstick on her wonderful, mellow lips. I felt how my cheeks were getting warmer when I looked at her slightly opened mouth with my mind full of dirty thoughts..

I shook my head quickly, trying to get rid of my inappropriate thoughts. I turned to look at Rouge again and I noticed that she was looking through a drink list. I guess she was thirsty after all that dancing. But still she didn't order anything.

I called a bartender and I ordered a new drink and I asked him to take it to her. A bartender nodded to me with a little smirk on his lips. This was nothing new to him I guess, men often buy drinks to women at the bar. Right?

I looked how a bartender walked to Rouge and offered that drink to her, hoping she would now notice me. She looked slightly surprised. I couldn't hear what they were talking but I noticed how a bartender nodded towards me and smiled before he left. Rouge looked at her drink and then slowly she turned to look at me. I felt how my cheeks were getting more warmer as she looked at me. First, she looked surprised again but then a small smirk grew on her lips as she got up with a drink on her hand. I looked how she walked and her hips were moving from side to side slowly as she walked towards me, smiling slightly seductively now. I took a sip from my beer mug to hide a little smirk that was trying to rise on my lips as I watched her.

"Knuckles the Echidna, what a lovely surprise~" she said with her smooth voice as she sat next to me, placing her drink on a bar desk. I felt tingling on my skin as I heard her smooth voice saying my name.

"Long time no see," I said calmly but inside I was feeling nervous and excited.

"Mm, long time no see indeed..~" she said as she looked at me with her beautiful teal colored eyes. I noticed how she was looking at me from head to toe slowly. Just like I was watching her earlier.. She smiled slightly more and I felt how she gently poked my biceps.

"Wow, someone has been working out lately," she said teasingly. I blushed more and I took a little sip from my beer mug again.

"Not so much actually. I haven't been using my time in the gym lately. I have been working.." I said after drinking. She looked at me and smiled.

"What do you do then? Something that requires muscle strength~?" she asked.

"Kinda," I answered shortly. She was happy with my answer apparently because she didn't ask any more questions about my job. Or maybe she found the subject boring, who knows..

I looked at her slightly. She took a sip from her drink.

"Ah, so good. You have good taste, Knux~" she said afterwards. She placed her drink on a bar desk next to her black little bag, then she turned to look at me again.

"So, are you trying to make me drunk or why are you suddenly bying drinks to me~?"

"N-nothing like that!" I blurted out quickly while I was shaking my head fast. I would never even try something like that! She only giggled in a teasing yet somehow sweet way.

"I just thought.. You know, that you might be thirsty because you have been dancing all night," I said.

"Oh, so you have been watching me~?" she asked teasingly. I blushed even more.

"N-no..! I just.. I-i just noticed you were dancing..!" I blurted out again. Damn this woman! She always makes me trip up! I looked at her quickly and she was smiling teasingly to me. She sure was enjoying my teasing..

"S-so... What have you been doing these years? I haven't seen you in a while, you know," I said, trying to sound as normal and laid-back as possible but I was actually dying to hear where she has been and why she left so suddenly three years ago. I was curious to know. I needed to know..

"Mh, a little this and that," she said without really giving me a good answer. She took a sip from her drink again and I could notice that she was suddenly acting a little differently. She wasn't really looking at me anymore. I cursed slightly in my head as I took a long sip from my beer.

"Oh, I see.." I just said after I placed my mug on a desk. We sat there in silence for a few minutes before she finally turned to look at me with a little grin on her lovely looking lips.

"That answer really was good enough for you, Knuxie?" she asked and laughed but I knew it was fake laugh. I blushed softly and again I felt tingling on my skin when she said my name. Her little pet name for me.

I slightly shook my head as I watched her carefully now. She laughed slightly again, dryly this time, and she looked at me with her teal eyes.

"Well.. Not really," I said. Before she said anything I continued.

"I mean.. Three years.. It's pretty long time. And no one knew where you went. Not even Shadow and he's your best friend afterall.." Rouge nodded a little and once again she turned her beautiful face away from me. I looked at her from my seat and a look in her eyes changed into a serious look. She wasn't smiling anymore and I sensed that she had tensed up a little by my words. I cursed again in my head. I hope I didn't ruin her mood..

"It sure was a long time.." I heard her say quietly. She was looking at her drink and holding her cocktail glass tightly with her fingers. I looked at her quietly, wanting her to continue talking but once again silence fell between us. She moved her fingers slightly, almost like nervously on a glass.

"I.. I just needed a little break.." she finally said.

"From what?" I asked carefully. She smiled tiny bit, a little sad looking smile.

"From everything," she said and her words made me confused. I looked at her and my curiousity didn't let me leave this conversation to this.

"From everything..? What do you mean?" I asked. She turned to look at me with tiny smile on her lips.

"I just needed to get away from here. It's nothing serious really.. I just wanted to travel a little and you know.. Go around the world a bit," she said and now she was the one trying to sound as laid-back as she just could.

I only nodded softly as she talked. I knew she wasn't going to tell me any other details about why she left and where but I was glad she shared even something with me. I smiled slightly as I looked at her.

"Well that's nice," I said with a friendly tone. She smiled back at me before she looked at her drink and drank the rest of it with one long sip. She then called a bartender to her and ordered the same drink. I couldn't help but smile a bit more. She liked a drink I ordered to her a lot appearently and that actually made me really glad. I chuckled quietly as I also drank the rest of my beer, leaving the empty mug on the desk.

While waiting for Rouge to get her new drink we started to talk this and that. Rouge wasn't talking anything about her leaving but it was fine by me actually. She didn't want to talk about it and even though I was curious about it I didn't want to push her to tell me anything. I just hoped I could somehow find out..

After a few minutes of talking Rouge got her drink but she didn't pay so much attension of it since her eyes were on me and she was listening me talking about my new job at a local sport store. She was smiling and sometimes nodding a bit as he listened me. I was smiling the whole time I was talking. I loved the way she was looking at me with a curious, and very adorable, look in her eyes. I also loved the way she laughed when I told her a silly sport themed joke. She wasn't feeling bad or sad anymore, I was sure of it. And that made me happy.

Before I even noticed we were on the dancefloor dancing and laughing slightly. I never really liked to dance in bars but now when Rouge was dancing next to me I didn't feel so embarrased about my lack of dance skills. I actually had a lot of fun with her.

After dancing at least for an hour we walked over a bardesk and we ordered drinks again. Rouge was already getting tipsy after only two drinks but I was feeling really sober. And pretty much after five drinks Rouge was already giggling and blushing a lot. And being drunk as hell.

"Let's leave! I know a place where we can go..!" Rouge yelled -or more like slurred- over the loud music after some time. Before I could think about it I felt how Rouge grabbed my hand and she started to lead me out. My face was turning more red and my chest was feeling warm as I looked at our hands. Last time I had a chance to hold her hand was a long time ago. Like really long time ago.. I heard her teasing words in my head all of the sudden. 'You just wanted to hold my hand, didn't you? That's why you saved me; you're such a creep!' My face turned even more redder now.

We went to get our jackets from bar's cloakroom and soon we were walking towards the front door. I took a deep breath of fresh air as we got outside from a bar. It was a little chilly outside but I only enjoyed it after the hot air in bar. I closed my eyes for a while but I opened my eyes quickly as I felt how two slim arms were wrapping around my arm. I turned to look at Rouge who was now holding my hand close to her body and smiling at me seductively. She had a little drunken blush on her cheeks and the way she looked at me made me feel like my chest was on fire.

"Come on, handsome, let's go. Or do you want to spend a night outside all alone~?" she asked and giggled madly. I chuckled gently as I wondered what she meant by that.

"Let's go," I said and only now I noticed that I was slurring slightly too. Not as much as Rouge but a little. I could easily tell that I wasn't drunk but maybe I was tipsy after all that beer..

After ten minutes of walking we arrived at the hotel called Chaos Star. A hotel looked quite modest from the outside. It was far from a place I would imagine Rouge staying over a night. I always thought she would stay in some fancy and expensive hotel but it looks like I was wrong..

Rouge was still hugging my hand as we walked in a hotel. Rouge led me towards an old looking elevator and for a while I was afraid to step in it. I think she guessed my thoughts because she started to giggle and she told me that even though an elevator was old, it was still working like a new one. That made me calm down a bit even though I wasn't really enjoying travelling five floors up with this old junk that could easily stop working momentarily.

We stepped out from an elevator and Rouge led me towards her hotel room. We walked a little before we stopped in front of a door and I saw a golden number five on it. Rouge started to look for a key from her black bag and I waited. She cursed out loud a bit for not finding her key right away but luckily she found it. She smiled as she opened the door of her room and stepped in. She turned on the lights and I followed her in her room.

My curiosity took over again. While Rouge closed the door behind me I looked around her room. The room was not very big but not too small either. There was a bed, which to my surprise was a double bed, wooden chests of drawers on both sides of the bed, a large closet and dark curtains and light colored carpets in the room, as well as a few plants on a wide windowsill. I noticed an empty suitcase on the floor and some papers next to it.

I was just about to step closer and see what they were when I suddenly felt how those slim arms wrapped around me, this time around my body. I turned to look at Rouge quickly over my shoulder and I bet my face was bright red now. Rouge smiled a little silly looking drunken smile as she hugged me gently.

"I missed you, Knuckles," she slurred and purred against me. Those words made me heart skip a bit.

"W-what did you say?" I blurted out. She smiled more and stroked my chest as I turned to face her better.

"I missed you~" she said again, now with more seductive and sexy voice. I could feel how my heart was beating faster in my chest.

"You.. really mean what?" I asked carefully. She looked up to me, which I found a little funny since she used to be a little taller than me in the past but now I was the taller one, and she nodded.

"Yeah Knuxie, I was missing you soooo much," she said and wrapped her hands around my shoulders gently. I felt how she started to stroke my neck and upper back now and I felt like I was melting by her touch.

"Did you miss me Knuxie~?" she asked with a bit quieter tone. I bit my lower lip lightly as I looked at her quietly as I was trying to pluck up some courage.

Suddenly she let go of me and I saw how her beautiful eyes got filled with tears. My eyes widened when I saw how tears started to fall down her cheeks. She started to sob and she backed away from me. I reached my hand towards her and I was about to say something when she slapped my hand away and sat on the bed, covering her face with her hands and crying more.

"I knew it..! I knew I shouldn't have come back here!" she cried out. I looked at her more worriedly and also confused now as I carefully moved closer to her. I knelt in front of her and a bed and I carefully moved her hands away from her face.

"Rouge.." She looked at me and sobbed softly. Her makeup was ruined now but in my eyes she still looked beautiful.

I held her hands gently in my hands and I rubbed them with my thumbs, trying my best to make her calm down. She looked at me and I felt a sting in my chest. She looked so miserable and sad, just because of me..

I took a deep breath before I started to talk.

"I did miss you.. A lot actually," I said and I noticed a glimpse of hope in her eyes. I looked at her and I decided to tell her everything. I don't care if she doesn't remember anything in the morning, I just want her to know..

"I was thinking about you every day.. I was afraid I wouldn't see you ever again.." She looked at me and she started to smile slowly. I smiled at her a bit and I carefully stroked her cheek, wiping her tears away with my thumb.

"When I saw you in a bar today.. I thought I was going crazy and that I was just seeing things but then I realized that it's really you. You don't even know how happy I was when I saw you.." I continued. She started to smile more and some tears fell down her cheeks again.

"I brought that drink to you so you would notice me. And you did.." I said gently. She leaned her face against my hand softly. She smiled and her smile warmed my heart.

"Oh Knuckles.." she said rather shyly now and she kissed my hand gently. That made me blush even more. She looked so sensitive and vulnerable right now. I felt like I wanted to protect her, no matter what..

"I was happy to see you too," she whispered and I noticed how she leaned closer to me now. I automatically leaned towards her too and soon our faces were really close to each others. She looked at me with half lidded eyes and I noticed how her gaze was moving between my eyes and lips slowly. I felt how my breathing was getting slightly heavier as I looked at her lips now, also with half lidden eyes. Her lips looked so soft and I wanted to know how they would feel against mine.

I tilted my head slightly as I leaned closer to her. She placed her hands on my cheeks and then I felt her lips against mine. I closed my eyes and I felt like my whole body was on fire and butterflies were flying in my stomach. I leaned more closer to her and she let out a soft moan as we deepened our kiss. I wrapped my arms around her and I pulled her closer. I knew she was drunk and she would probably forget that we even kissed but I didn't care. I didn't care at all. God, this feels so good and so right. I was going to enjoy this as long as it just lasted because I had been waiting for this for so long. I had always dreamt about this moment and now it was finally here..

Rouge held me closer and she opened her mouth slightly and I took the hint and moved my tongue in her mouth. She moaned against our kiss as our tongues started to play and wrestle. I heard how I let out a moan too when her tongue touched a sensitive spot on my tongue. Her hands were travelling on my body and mine were stroking her back and hair.

I broke the kiss when I felt how Rouge's hands were moving lower. She stopped her hand movements and she looked at me, panting and blushing. I was panting too as I looked at her in the eyes. I held her close and for a few minutes we just stared at each others.

"Why you left..?" I heard myself whisper. Rouge looked at me and lowered her ears.

"I.. I couldn't stay here anymore.." she answered with a whisper.

"Why not..? Did something happen..?" I asked quietly. She shook her head slightly and she stroked my arm a bit.

"No, nothing happened.. I just.. I just needed to leave," she said.

"But why Rouge..?"

"Because.. Because I couldn't be close to you," she finally said. My eyes widened a bit.

"What do you mean..?" I asked. I was rather confused now. She looked at me in the eyes and I saw some sadness in them.

"I liked you.. A lot actually. And we were just fighting so much back then. I thought.. I thought you hated me." I was amazed by her words because that's exactly what I thought she was thinking about me. Before I could say anything she continued.

"That made feel so broken, Knuckles.. I thought that if I leave, I would forget about you and find someone else but that never happened. I was only thinking about you and missing you a lot," she said and I saw tears in her eyes again.

"I thought that being away from you would kill my feelings for you but they only grew bigger," she said between her sobs.

"I love you, Knuckles the Echidna!" she said louder now and sobbed. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped when I heard those words.

"W-what..?" I slurred in amazement.

"I love you, you stupid echidna..!" she cried out loudly. My eyes widened even more when she said it again. My chest was on fire and my heart was going to explode for sure. I didn't care at all that she called me stupid. Only thing I could really hear were those three words. Those three words that meant so much for me. Those three little words from her mouth made my head spin, my heart beat madly and my whole body feel hotter.

"You.. love me?" I said, sounding like total idiot.

"Y-yeah.. I love you, Knuckles.. Go ahead, laugh if you want.." she said quietly between her sobs. I looked at her more now. I placed my hands on her cheeks and I looked into those teal orbs. some tears were still falling down her cheeks as he looked at me.

"I would never, ever, laugh at you.." I said with much more lower voice than I was supposed to. Rouge looked confused now. I stroked her cheeks gently and I kissed her face. I could taste her salty tears now.

"I would never laugh at you because... I love you too, Rouge.." Rouge's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something but she stayed quiet. She looked at me and her eyes were getting watery again. Before she started to cry again I smiled at her in a loving way. She smiled back to me and I was happy to see that beautiful smile again. I leaned closer to her face and I gave her a light kiss on her lips.

"I love you, Rouge," I said again. She smiled even more. She laughed gently and tears of joy, or I hope they were tears of joy, were falling down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Knuckles," she said and sobbed again. She hugged me tightly and rested her head on my shoulder and I held her close to me. I stroked her hair gently and we stayed in that place for a good while. We didn't say anything, we just enjoyed each other's proximity.

I couldn't help myself. I started to smile happily and I felt how my eyes were getting a bit wet too. I looked at her while I was holding her and I felt so happy. The woman I have been loving for four years said that she loves me and now she's in my arms, cuddling and purring. I closed my eyes too and I held this precious bat closer.

When I opened my eyes after a while I noticed that Rouge had fallen asleep. I carefully lifted her in my arms before I placed her on the bed gently. I took her high heels off and I placed them next to her bed. I looked at the sleeping bat and I smiled gently. I stroked her head a bit before I took off my own shoes and socks. I then took of my shirt and I placed them on the floor since there wasn't any other place for them. I laid next to Rouge, still leaving some space between us, and I moved a blanket on us. I looked at her one more time before I reached to switch the lights off.

The next morning I woke up when I felt something on top of my chest. I opened my eyes tiny bit and I blinked a few times. I rubbed my eyes a bit as I was trying to get rid of the blurry morning vision. After a few minutes I blinked my eyes lazily and I looked down a little. I noticed white hair on my chest and arm and I saw Rouge's head on my chest. I blushed pretty hard when I remembered clearly what happened last night. I didn't dare to move and wake her up so I just laid there and looked at her. She was breathing calmly and she looked so peaceful. I couldn't help but smile. I would love to wake up like this every morning..

Soon also Rouge started to wake up. I looked at her when she yawned slightly and she rubbed her eyes a little bit. Her makeup was all over her face but once again I only found her gorgeous looking. When she opened her eyes she startled lightly as she noticed me.

"Morning," I said and I smiled a little to her. She looked confused for a while but then she smiled a little bit. I was kind of surprised she wasn't having a horrible hangover after last night. She looked a little embarrased as she moved away from my chest. She sat on a bed and looked at me.

"U-um.. Morning," she said. I sat up too and I looked at her.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. I would have wanted to ask if she remembered what happened last night but I decided to stay quiet for a while.

"Oh, I'm just fine," she said and smiled tiny bit to me.

"S-so.. um.. Did we...?" she started but I shook my head right away to cut her in. I knew what she was going to ask anyway.

"No," I answered.

"Oh.." she said, somehow looking surprised. Or was she actually dissapointed..? I shook my head a bit to shake off those thoughts.

"So.. Um.. Do you remember what we talked about last night?" I asked carefully. I looked to the side and I was actually a little afraid to hear her answer. I was really hoping she would remember how she kissed me and told me that she loves me. I looked at her again and I noticed how she started to blush. She remembered.

"Yes.. I do remember that, Knuckles," she said shyly. I smiled at her and I carefully took her hand in my own. She looked at me and smiled slightly, in shy way.

"I'm glad you remember," I said.

"Because you drank a lot," I continued and I chuckled teasingly. She laughed gently.

"Oh boy.. I blame you for buying that first drink..!" she said and giggled.

"Hey, it was not my fault you liked it too much," I chuckled again and I threw her with a pillow. She catched it and laughed. She threw it back to me before he glomped me and pressed her lips against mine again. My heart made a somersault inside of my chest and my face turned deep red. I was just about to kiss her back when she pulled her perfect lips further away. She stayed close to me as she looked at me and smiled gently now.

"But I'm glad you did that," she added. I smiled gently to her. We shared a long, passionate kiss before Rouge got up from a bed and rushed in the bathroom of her room. I heard how she yelled something to me, something about her looking horrible with messy hair and ruined makeup but I yelled back that she looked absolutely stunning no matter what. A silence fell down in bathroom and I would have loved to see her face after my courtesy.

While Rouge was taking a shower in bathroom I was putting my shirt on and slightly trying to make my dreadlocks look less messy. After fifteen minutes Rouge rushed back to me and walked to the wardrobe. I turned my gaze away while she was getting dressed, even thought I had difficulties to keep my gaze on a wall when I knew that this gorgeous woman was naked behind my back. She was done after a few minutes and now she sat on the bed and she was putting new makeup on. I looked at her and I smiled. She was looking just better and better in my eyes.

After we both were ready Rouge suggested that we go somewhere to eat breakfast together. I liked that thought a lot so I nodded. She smiled as she took another bag and put everything se needed in there. She took my hand gently and we stepped out of her room. Rouge closed the door and locked it before we walked to an elevator again. A moment later we were walking out from a hotel and Rouge took the lead again after telling that she knew a perfect place for breakfast.

About half an hour later we were sitting in a nice looking coffeeplace, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. I was smiling the whole time and also Rouge was on a good mood as we looked at each others. She smiled gently to me and stroked my hand which I had placed on the table a moment earlier.

"I think I need to figure out a new pet name for you," she said which kind of suprised me. I chuckled a little.

"Oh? Knuxie is not good enough?" I chuckled more and I took a bite of my toast. I heard how she purred softly.

"It is good but... How does a 'boyfriend' sound~?" I swallowed quickly and I started to smile even more now. My heart began to beat fast again when I gently squeezed Rouge's hand.

"That sounds lovely... 'girlfriend'~" I said. She smiled the most sweetest smile I have ever seen and that was the moment when I realized how lucky I really was to have her as my girlfriend now.


End file.
